


Heart of Code

by RVA_Writer



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-14
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-12 03:29:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 13,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28753659
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RVA_Writer/pseuds/RVA_Writer
Summary: Callum is a front end developer for a software firm and leads a pretty lonely life, which is the way, he thinks, he likes it. His world view is challenged when a new woman starts as a back end developer and they are teamed up to complete an important project.Rayla is starting a new job as a back end developer for one of the leading software firms. The last place she is looking for love is in the work place, especially after her last relationship went south. When she is teamed up with a green eyed front end developer her opinion about work place romances is challenged.
Relationships: Aanya/Ellis/Ezran (The Dragon Prince), Callum/Rayla (The Dragon Prince)
Comments: 72
Kudos: 99





	1. First Day

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I'm adding yet another work. I swear I'm just not going to have a million first chapters. But, when an idea strikes me I have to get it out. And, I figured maybe the community would like to see them.

It had already been a long day for Callum, and he had only been at work for an hour and only at his desk for half that time. The other half hour had been spent at the coffee machine talking to his manager, Soren. Soren wasn’t a bad manager and treated his people more like friends than subordinates. He was easy enough to talk to, even if he did make the occasional inappropriate comment. But, Callum had observed that Soren was careful who he said such things to. Though, at times, Callum wished he was one of the ones Soren didn’t joke about. This morning it had been something about a new girl joining the team. Callum hadn’t learned anything about her other than Soren thought she was hot. But, then again, Callum had learned that Soren seemed to think anything with long legs and a pulse was hot.

Callum stared at the screen, he had a project he was supposed to be working on, but he was completely uninspired at the moment. Music, he thought. He needed music. It always helped him when he couldn’t focus. And, the people seated around him generally didn’t mind his singing along this early in the morning. Honestly, most of them didn’t start work until about ten o’clock anyway. With that in mind, Callum slipped his headphones on and called up a song on his phone. Before long he was singing along and coding away. Only the newer team members paid him any attention, all the rest of the team just went on with their morning routine.

It was during “Wanted Dead or Alive” that someone tapped Callum on his shoulder. He had been lost in the Richie Sambora back up and the sudden contact startled him. Callum turned to see Soren standing behind him with a striking young lady next to him. She was about a head and a half shorter than Soren with stark white hair, and big violet eyes. Callum had never seen someone with eyes like that before, they were, well, perfect. He caught himself staring at the beautiful woman. If this was the new girl Soren was talking about that morning, then hot had been an understatement. She was absolutely stunning. Callum finally tore his gaze off of her to look toward Soren, a bit embarrassed that he had stared at her for so long.

“Callum,” Soren greeted him. “I’d like to introduce you to Rayla. She’s joining us today. Rayla,” he said, turning to look at the woman, “this is Callum. One of our best front end guys. He could probably code circles around most people in this room.”

Callum blushed, a little embarrassed by Soren’s praise. “I doubt that,” he said. “Everyone here is really good at what they do. It’s what you get for hiring the best people.”

“Nonsense,” Soren said. “Callum has probably forgotten more about code than most people know.”

“Then,” Rayla looked him over, “why do you do front end?”

“I’m a bit of an artist in my free time and I like the design aspect,” Callum said motioning to a sketch hanging on the divider at the back of his desk. It was a picture of a rather beautiful woman that caused Callum to gaze fondly at it.

“Girlfriend?” Rayla asked, looking over the picture.

“My mother,” Callum corrected. “She must have been about my age in that picture though.”

“Oh, momma’s boy?” Rayla asked.

Callum blushed with embarrassment again. “Have you worked in the corporate world before, Rayla?”

“Yeah, why,” she asked.

Callum was still flushed as he picked his headphones back up. “Well, hopefully this job will teach you the tact required to work in a job like this. My mother died when I was four, I never got the chance to be a momma’s boy.” Callum turned back to his monitor and put his headphones back on. As far as he was concerned, this conversation was over.

Callum was listening to Linkin Park as he continued to type away. It didn’t matter if she was cute, it didn’t give her the right to judge him, or anyone. Though, he knew he would eventually get over it. After all, the work relationship was more important than some stupid comment. But, that didn’t mean he had to like it now. It was during “By Myself” when a Google Hangouts notification popped up on his computer screen. It was from Soren, probably his daily reminder that it was time for Callum to stop singing along and get to work. Not that he wasn’t working when he was singing. Callum clicked the notification to call up the message. It was from Soren, but the content hadn’t been what Callum had expected.

Soren: Hey, Callum. Need a favor from you. Kazi asked me to pick Rayla’s corporate buddy and I’m picking you. If you’ll do it.

Callum: We didn’t exactly hit it off.

Soren: Exactly why I’m picking you. Besides, I have a project coming down they pipeline that Rayla was specifically hired for and I need my best guy to work on it with her.

Callum: Why not get Kasef to work with her. She’s right up his alley.

Soren: Are you crazy?!? I don’t want a sexual harassment case on my hands! That would be like throwing a seal into a tank of hungry sharks and telling them not to eat it.

Callum: I don’t know, Soren.

Soren: Come on buddy, I need you. You’re the only one I can trust. It’s not like there are any other females on our team.

Callum: what about you?

Soren: Managers can’t be buddies. They have to be he same level as you.

Callum: Fine, I’ll do it.

Soren: Great. I’m taking her to lunch today to welcome her to the team, why don’t you come?

Callum: Sorry, bud. Have to pass. Kazi wants this design done by EOD.

Soren: Doesn’t Kazi know you work from me?

Callum: And you work for them. I think they trump you.

Soren: I wish they would at least let me know if they are Shanghaiing my people. Well, don’t let this buddy thing fall off your plate. It looks good on your review.

Callum: Got it. I’ll see about taking her on a tour and lunch somewhere off campus tomorrow.

* * *

For a first day at a new job Rayla had already managed to stick her foot in her mouth at least once. It was supposed to be a joke, but she could see in hindsight where it was in poor taste. He probably wouldn’t talk to her now so that’s one member of the team she was going to be uncomfortable around. Soren, her direct manager, introduced her around to the rest of the team. While they were all men, most of them were respectful enough. She could tell one, in particular, was going be a problem with the way the guy, Kasef, leered at her. She didn’t like it one bit, just because of him she figured she’d be wearing longer skirts and slacks.

Rayla sat at her new desk, it was nice and big, and had a mechanism to allow her to set it to work standing, her preferred position for work. She was filling out the required documents and taking computer based training to catch her up on company policies. When she got to the harassment one, she wondered if she could forward it to that Kasef guy. She couldn’t help chuckle. As she tried to focus on her CBT’s her thoughts went back to Callum. He hadn’t given her a chance to apologize, just putting his head phones back on and starting to sing. He actually had a pleasant voice, she could listen to it all day if she had to. Maybe she could work it out where her desk could be closer to his. Then she could hear him and look at those striking green eyes. Rayla shook her head. She shouldn’t think like that. She had dated a guy from the database team in her last company and that had ended with her resigning and finding this job. Besides, this was the same team, surely that wasn’t allowed. At least, she thought until she took the associate relations CBT. Team members could date as long as they were the same level, there just needed to be full disclosure to the management. She shook herself out of it again. Bad news, that’s all it was.

“Rayla,” Soren’s voice brought here back into the moment.

“Oh, hey,” She greeted.

“I was thinking about taking you to lunch today, kind of welcome to the team thing,” Soren offered.

“Um, I don’t know,” Rayla said, sounding apprehensive.

“I wanted to talk to you about your first project and introduce you to your corporate buddy,” Soren said.

“Corporate buddy?” Rayla asked.

“Yeah,” Soren said, nodding. “They will help you learn your way around campus. Help you get adjusted to our corporate culture. Answer any questions you might have.”

“Oh, Okay,” Rayla said. “And, who is mine?”

“You remember Callum, right?”

Did she ever, the stuck a foot in her mouth guy. “Oh, him,” Rayla said.

“Don’t worry,” Soren said, sounding reassuring. “Callum won’t hold the momma’s boy comment against you. I think he’ll hold onto the girlfriend thing longer.” Soren grinned broadly.

“Why?”

“Callum has never had a girlfriend. We were all out for happy hour one night, and he let it slip. We’ve teased him every sense. But, he really is a good-natured guy.”

Rayla looked surprised. A cute guy like that having never had a girlfriend. “So, he just plays around?” Rayla wasn’t sure why she had asked that.

“Nope,” Soren said, shaking his head. “According to him, never been kissed. But enough about that, you’ll be able to have lunch with Callum tomorrow, he can’t make it today. Interested in going today? We can talk about the project.”

Rayla gave a sigh, “I guess so. What time is lunch?”

“You manage your own time around here. Put in your eight and get your work done we don’t micromanage you. I have a meeting at eleven, so I’m free between eleven thirty and one.”

Rayla agreed to meet Soren at twelve. In the meantime, if Callum has going to be her buddy she owed him an apology. His desk was a few rows over and a couple desk down from hers. He still had his headphones on with his lips moving to the music but no sound coming out. His finger flew across the keyboard with a proficiency she had rarely seen. She didn’t want to startle him, so she kind of hovered before he noticed her standing there. He smiled as he took off the headphones to set them on the desk.

“Hey there,” Callum greeted her. “Rayla, right?”

“Yeah,” Rayla said, sounding bashful. “Look, I wanted to apologize. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“It’s fine. I’m over it,” Callum confirmed.

“No, I should have been more sensitive,” Rayla said. “But, she’s so young and beautiful I just made the assumption that she was your girlfriend.”

“It’s fine,” Callum said.

“No it’s not. After I found out it was your mother I should have just kept my mouth shut.”

“Rayla, it’s fine, really,” Callum reassured her. He gave her a broad smile that made his eye sparkle.

Rayla’s heart seemed to skip a beat before she brought herself back in line. “Soren tells me that you are my corporate buddy?”

“I am,” Callum confirmed.

“To bad you can’t go to lunch with us today,” Rayla said, leaning her backside on Callum’s desk.

Callum seemed thoughtful for a moment. “Hey, I tell you what,” he said. “Blow Soren off today and let me take you to lunch some place nice. Do you like Chinese food?”

Rayla nodded.

“Excellent, be ready to go at like eleven. We have to get to this place early.”


	2. That Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rayla feeds her cat before giving her uncle Runaan a call to discuss her first day. The conversation focuses on her corporate buddy, Callum, and her other romantic failures.
> 
> Callum greets his dog only to have his brother Ezran drop in on him. They have a conversation that includes Ezran's sex life and the new girl, Rayla, at work.

Rayla entered her small apartment and threw her keys on the kitchen counter. All in all it had been an alright day. The place Callum had taken her to lunch had turned out to be like no Chinese food she had ever had. Honestly, she had expected one of those buffet places with the all you can eat fried rice and dry teriyaki chicken. To say she was pleasantly surprised would aptly describe her reaction when it was a full-blown restaurant, complete with menu’s written in both Mandarin and English. She was further impressed when Callum had ordered in Mandarin. On a closer look, she realized she shouldn’t have been surprised, Callum was at least part Chinese, or some other east Asian origin. She had ventured to ask during lunch and Callum had explained that his mother was from Beijing and his birth father was a US ambassador. They moved to the US shortly after he was born where his mother became a permanent citizen. He had lost his father at an even younger age and had been raised by his step-father after his mother passed. Rayla found herself enraptured in his life story.

A loud mewing made Rayla look around for the source. Sure enough, Neko, her cat, was seated in the doorway to her kitchen mewing for attention. She decided the cat was perturbed that she had walked in and all the way to the kitchen without paying him any attention. With a shake of her head, Rayla picked the cat up and walked over to the fridge and pulled it open.

“What’ll it be, Neko? Chicken and beef or salmon?”

Neko gave a noncommittal meow.

“Salmon it is,” Rayla said as she lowered her cat to the ground. She pulled the roll of cat food out of the refrigerator and chopped off a chuck. Neko watched her every move. “Don’t beg,” she said, pointing the knife at him before cutting the chuck into smaller pieces and placing it in the cat dish. After putting the cat food back, Rayla pulled out a pre-made salad. A look at the date told her she had just caught it in time. “Damn cat eats better than I do,” she huffed as she pulled out some dressing.

After her snack she picked up her phone and called up her uncle’s contact. She was supposed to call him as soon as she got off of work, but better late than never. She listened to the phone ring waiting for her uncle Runaan to pick up.

“Hello,” Runaan’s deep voice answered.

“Hey, Runaan,” Rayla replied.

“Hey, little one! How was your first day at the new job?” he asked.

“First of all, I’m twenty-five now, Runaan. I don’t exactly qualify as a little one anymore,” Rayla pointed out.

“You will always be little one to me, at least until you’re as old as I am,” Runaan said.

“I could age once a year and I would still never be as old as you,” Rayla said.

“I know,” Runaan said, a chuckle escaping. “But, anyway, how was work? Make any friends?”

“Yeah… Kind of… Not really…?” Rayla said, sounding unsure of herself.

“How do you ‘yeah, kind of, not really’ make friends?” Runaan asked, his tone perplexed.

“I had lunch with a guy on my team,” Rayla admitted.

“Rayla,” Runaan said, sounding disappointed. “Didn’t you learn anything with Daryl?”

“It’s not like that,” Rayla said. “This guy is like my ‘corporate buddy’, it’s kind of his duty to make sure I feel welcome.”

“No women to do that?” Runaan asked.

“I’m the only female on my team and I think they have to be from my team.” Rayla said, thoughtfully.

“So, tell me about this corporate buddy,” Runaan said.

“Well, he’s a nice enough guy with green eyes and what I could only describe as a mop of brown hair,” Rayla said.

“The first thing you can tell me about him is his physical appearance?” Runaan asked. “Treading on thin ice.”

“No, I can tell you other stuff,” Rayla quickly said. “He’s one of the best programmers in the company, and he will be working with me on the project that I got hired for.”

“And what’s that?”

“Don’t know what it is. I was supposed to find out at lunch today, but I skipped out on my managers welcome lunch to go to lunch with Callum, that’s my buddy, today.”

“Be careful with that, Rayla. You have the tendency to get your heart mixed up with the wrong guys.”

“Oh, really? Other than Daryl, who?”

“Ram.”

“Oh, yeah.”

“Callisto.”

“He doesn’t count.”

“How does he not count?”

“I never slept with him, did I?”

“Only because he turned out to be gay. You were still all mixed up with him.”

“Okay, point taken.”

“Skor.”

“Okay, okay. You made your point, you can stop now,” Rayla said. She was glad her uncle couldn’t see her as she was now flushed with embarrassment. She wouldn’t have to worry about any of this ending like any of those because this was strictly a work relationship with someone who had the most beautiful green eyes.

* * *

“Honey, I’m home!” Callum called out as he walked through the door to his tiny apartment. He hung his keys on the hook next to the door as he heard the click of claws that needed to be trimmed on the hardwood floor. It was his dog, a female rottweiler he had named, Mogui. While her name meant ‘devil’, she was far from it. Callum fell to his knees and through his arms around the dogs thick neck as she tried lick his face and the side of his head. Callum scratched behind her ear. “How you doing, girl? Miss me?” Callum asked the dog. “Of course you did,” he said, smiling.

Callum was surprised when the front door hit him in the backside. He looked up to see his younger brother, Ezran standing there. Callum jumped up to greet him. “Ez! What brings you by?”

“You really need a girlfriend,” Ezran said. “Still making out with your dog.”

“Hardy har,” Callum said. “This from a boy that talks to a frog.”

“I’m a junior in college,” Ezran pointed out. “I’m hardly a boy anymore.”

“But, you still talk to frogs,” Callum said, walking toward the kitchen with Mogui in tow. “So, anyway, what brings you over?” he asked as he prepped a bowl of food for the dog.

“My last class ran late and I figured you would be home by now, so I stopped by. Maybe we can do dinner,” Ezran said.

“Or, you didn’t have money for pizza and you wanted your older brother to get you some food,” Callum said.

Ezran sighed, “Maybe.”

“How much do you need,” Callum asked, pulling out his wallet.

“Like a hundred bucks,” Ezran said, trying to sound humble. “I’ll pay it back on payday.”

“Ez, don’t worry about it.” Callum said. “I don’t mind.” Callum handed Ezran the cash.

“Do you always carry around this much cash?” Ezran asked.

“Only when I think my little brother is coming through to borrow money,” Callum said with a wink. “Now, let’s order a pizza.”

“Yeah, sounds good. No meat,” Ezran said.

“I know, you weirdo,” Callum teased.

“A lot of people don’t eat meat,” Ezran pointed out.

“Like the new girl at work,” Callum said as he scrolled through his phone to find the pizza app.

“There is a new girl at your work?” Ezran asked, pulling Callum’s phone from him and starting the pizza order.

“Yeah, she started today.”

“Well, tell me about her.”

“Let’s see. She thought the picture of mom on my desk was my girlfriend, then she called me a momma’s boy.”

“She’s right about that.”

Callum cut a sideways glance toward his little brother. “Anyway. She had the most mysterious and beautiful purple eyes and totally white hair.”

“Is she like eighty?”

“No, I think she’s my age. I took her to lunch at that classy Chinese place downtown, that’s when I found out she doesn’t eat meat. I think she’s actually vegan, she ordered sweet and sour tofu.”

Ezran looked a bit impressed. “Woman after my own heart. Is she single?”

“I don’t know, and don’t you already have two girlfriends?”

“Ellis and Aanya aren’t my girlfriends,” Ezran said, tossing Callum back his phone.

“Right, they are just two girls that cuddle with you, stay over your place, and take their clothes off for you.”

“We’re just three friends that enjoy being intimate together. So, is she cute.”

Callum could only shake his head. “Yes, she’s cute. She’s Scottish, of course she’s cute.”

“Just because she's Scottish doesn’t make her automatically cute.”

“What about Karen Gillan?” Callum asked.

“Exception, not the rule. But, are you of all people really comparing her to Karen Gillan?” Ezran probed.

“I mean, she doesn’t look anything like her, but she’s just as pretty,” Callum admitted. “If not more so,” he added.

“Whoa, if I didn’t know you were asexual I’d almost say you wanted to date this girl.”

“Ez, I’m not asexual. Just because I haven’t found the right girl yet doesn’t mean I’m opposed to dating and the things that go with it.”

“Callum, you’ve never even experimented with a girl.”

“Just haven’t found one worth ‘experimenting’ with,” Callum said with air quotes.

“What about Aanya? She’s always going on about how sexy you are and wouldn’t mind showing you a thing or two.”

There was a knock on the door. “Shut up and get the pizza, tip the man five bucks.”

Ezran stood up and grinned. “You can’t deny that she’s five-foot four of blonde bombshell.”

“Enough, you lech.”


	3. Day Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day two of work. Rayla get's hit on and Callum comes to her rescue.

It was day two of her new job. Rayla had made her way to her desk, past the people that were congregated in the galley watching a final moments of morning news or getting their morning coffee. She didn’t realize it, or didn’t want to admit it to herself, but she was hoping to see Callum, which she didn’t. She knew one she started getting included in team meeting she would meet more people, but right now, Callum and Soren were the only people she really knew. She gave a sigh as she pulled her company issued laptop out of her bag and snapped it into the docking station. It didn’t take long before she got a Google Hangout notification. She hoped it was Callum, but was rather disappointed when she saw who it was from.

Kasef: Hey there. Looking cute this morning.

Rayla rolled her eyes. She was pretty sure this bordered on harassment, but she’d give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe she had misjudged him and maybe he was really a nice guy just trying to welcome her to the team.

Rayla: Um, thanks. What’s up?

Kasef: I was wondering if you had been assigned your corporate buddy yet?

Rayla: I have.

Kasef: Oh? Who is it?

Rayla: The guy, Callum.

Kasef: Lol. Callum? He’s not very exciting. You should ask to have it changed.

Rayla: To who?

Kasef: I’d do it. I could really show you the ropes around here.

Rayla to Callum: Hey, buddy. Are you there?

Rayla to Kasef: I think I’ll stick with Callum. They must have picked him for a reason.

Kasef: He’s such a drag. Come on babe.

Callum: Good morning, buddy.

Rayla to Callum: Kasef doesn’t seem to like you.

Callum: Kasef doesn’t think highly of anyone that’s not Kasef.

Rayla to Kasef: Please don’t call me babe.

Kasef: No harm no foul.

Rayla to Callum: He wants to replace you as my corporate buddy.

Callum: Of course he does. But speaking of buddies, do you want to do a tour of the campus today?

Rayla to Callum: Sounds like fun. Look forward to it.

Rayla had a slight smile on her face that faded as soon as she saw a head poke up behind her desk. It was Kasef. She hadn’t realized the day before that the man sat in the desk the faced hers, separated by only a low dividing wall.

“Hey,” Kasef said. “Why don’t you let me treat you to lunch today?”

“I’m not sure about that,” Rayla said. She fought the urge to roll her eyes.

“Come on,” Kasef said. “It’s something we do to greet new team members.”

Kasef’s brow furrowed suddenly. Rayla felt a presence uncomfortably close to her. That feeling changed quickly when she looked back to find Callum standing there. His posture was protective and Rayla welcomed it.

“Hey Rayla,” Callum greeted her with a smile. “Kasef,” his voice had turned dry and emotionless. Callum looked back to her. “Want to take a tour of the campus and grab some lunch later today? I think Soren will join us for lunch.”

“We were just talking about having lunch,” Kasef said, sounding perturbed with Callum’s interruption

Rayla turned her back on Kasef to find herself inches from Callum. He smelled of vanilla and cinnamon. He must have realized how close he was standing as he swallowed and took a step back. Rayla almost reached out to stop him but thought better of it, she didn’t want to send the wrong signals. She just smiled up at him, “I think that would be fun. And, then we can go over the project with Soren.”

“Great,” said Callum, “We’ll get together around ten and I’ll give you that tour.”

“Okay,” Rayla said, waving at Callum as he walked away. Then it occurred to her a way to look innocent in her motives or refusing Kasef. “So,” she turned to look at him still standing there looking rather displeased. “What to join Callum, Soren, and I for lunch?”

“No,” Kasef huffed. “I’ll pass.” Rayla watched as his head disappeared back behind the divider wall.

Rayla gave a shrug and continued to work on her training test that she hadn’t finished up the day before. Her desk area still smelled of Callum, and she wasn’t complaining. It was a pleasant scent. It wasn’t like she was attracted to him, she had only known him from two days now and besides, rushing into relationships had been why she had such rotten luck with men. And, Runaan would never approve if her next update included something like that. She just sighed at herself and got to work.

* * *

Callum had left Rayla’s desk, hopefully he had given her the means to shut Kasef down. He hadn’t realized how close he had been standing next to her, but he could easily smell her: a sweet floral sent mixed with berries. He had actually had to suppress the urge to protectively place his hand on her shoulder. He discovered that he was angry that Kasef would even dare suggest he replace Callum has her corporate buddy. Was it jealousy? Did he think that Rayla would actually ask for a change? Of course, it couldn’t be jealousy. Callum didn’t have a jealous bone in his body. He wouldn’t know how to be jealous even if the occasion arose. But, it did feel like someone was trying to take something that was his. Callum shook his head. He was being silly. And, Rayla was a grown woman. She didn’t need a protector, and could choose who she spent her time with. And, she certainly didn’t belong to him or anyone else.

Callum made his way over to Soren’s desk. The blonde man was on the phone and held up one finger to Callum when he approached. Callum waited for a moment for Soren to finish his call. Out the corner of his eye he could see Kasef talking to one of the other guys with an occasional node in Callum’s direction. He was certainly talking about him. Callum was positive that he words ‘cock block’ where part of the conversation. Soren’s voice drew his attention way from Kasef.

“What’s up, Callum?” Soren asked, positioning the mic of his headset away from his mouth.

“It’s about Kasef,” Callum said. “He’s already harassing the new girl.”

“I’ll have a talk with him,” Soren said, sighing.

“Can you swap her desk with Tim’s and put her next to me?” Callum asked.

“Tim benefits from sitting next to you,” Soren said. “Why would I change that?”

“Well, you said she and I are going to be working together on some big project, how long is that going to last?”

“Probably two or three quarters, we haven’t worked out the time line yet,” Soren said. It was clear he could see where Callum was going.

“If it’s that important, wouldn’t be better for us to be neighbors?” Callum questioned.

“So, for the project and to get her away from Kasef. No other reason?” Soren asked.

“No Soren,” Callum said. “Come on, you said I’m the only one you can trust.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” Soren agreed. “Okay. I’ll make it happen today. Tell her to pack her stuff up and I’ll tell Tim. Then we’ll get some lunch.”

“Speaking of lunch, I asked Rayla to lunch again today and thought you could join us,” Callum said. “Talk about the project.”

“Sounds good,” Soren said. “Now we have our weekly call with Kazi. Be sure your buddy has the invite.”

Callum made his way back over to Rayla’s desk. She smiled at him as he approached.

“I have helped rearrange things so you’ll be seated next to me,” Callum said. “I hope I didn’t cross the line.”

“Does that mean I don’t have to sit with,” — Rayla dropped her voice — “Kasef?”

“Yes,” Callum said. “It’ll be you and I together.”

“Then you crossed no lines,” Rayla said with a wink. “I’d rather sit with you anyway.”

“I meant with all of it, stepping in earlier and everything,” Callum said, sounding unsure.

“It’s fine, Callum,” Rayla said placing her hand on his upper arm.

Callum’s pulse quickened at the contact. With the touch and the way she looked at him with a gentle smile, he was, well, scared, uncomfortable. He stepped back and gave her a shy smile. “Um, we have a meeting with our senior manager in about half an hour. We’ll move your stuff after that. I’ll be sure to send you the invite.” Callum hoped he didn’t broadcast his discomfort and if Rayla had seen it she gave no indication.

Kazi’s meeting was a standard affair. They spent 10 minutes of the meeting greeting Rayla had getting her to tell the team about herself. Most of the stuff she talked about, Callum had learned the day before at lunch. She had been in the States for three years and was hoping to get her citizenship in two more years. This was her second job in the states. She had a cat named, Neko. After the meeting and the move Callum offered to take Rayla on the tour.

Callum started with their building showing her where all the bathrooms are, which brand soda machine was on which floor. Plus, the one galley that offered pre-made food. He showed her the cafeteria with the Starbucks. He even bought her a cup of coffee before they headed down the hallway the lead to the exit. Callum stopped at a room with a nondescript door.

“This is the mother’s room,” Callum said. “It’s for nursing mothers.”

“I don’t have any reason to nurse,” Rayla said with a grin. “In fact, I don’t have any kids at all.”

“Do you want any?” Callum said, cringing at the question.

Rayla could clearly tell the question had slipped out. “I do, but I need to find to right guy first. I don’t have to best of luck with men,” Rayla admitted.

Callum couldn’t believe it, how could this absolutely stunning woman not be in a relationship. He finished the tour with going out into the courtyard and explaining what all the surrounding buildings were and the differences between the individual cafeterias was. It was time for lunch with Soren when they finished.

“Rayla, Callum,” Soren greeted them.

“What are you thinking today?” Callum asked.

“Probably something from the salad bar. How about you Rayla?” Soren asked.

“That’s who I was asking,” Callum said, giving Rayla a wink.

“Salad bar for me, too,” Rayla said.

“So, Rayla, has Callum told you about happy hour?”

“No, he hasn’t,” Rayla said as they got in line for the salad bar.

“Last Friday of the month, we go to a local place and have some drinks and eat some food. Kazi pays for it.”

“Sounds like fun,” Rayla said.

“Awesome, maybe we’ll see you there this month. And maybe you can get Callum to go. He hasn’t been since the whole never had a girlfriend thing.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Rayla promised.

Callum decided, if Rayla was there, maybe it wouldn’t be that bad to go. But, he couldn’t believe Soren had told her about the girlfriend incident.


	4. Music and HR

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Callum and Rayla share some morning music.
> 
> Rayla had lunch with a girl from HR.

It was just another morning for Callum. He sat at his desk listening to his music, singing along to the songs he could and just mouthing the more inappropriate ones. He was in a zone and paid no attention to anyone around him. Not even Soren’s wave went noticed. It was the smell of flowers and berries that broke Callum out of his trance. He looked up to see Rayla standing next to him. She held two cups of coffee and sported a broad smile. It had already been a week since she started, and he still wasn’t use to seeing her around the office. Callum paused his music and smiled at her.

“Morning, Rayla,” Callum said.

“Morning, Callum,” Rayla returned. “I got you a coffee.”

“Great, thanks!” Callum said, taking the extra coffee cup. “I was just working on the JS for this site we’re building.”

“Do you do anything but work?” Rayla asked, turning her laptop on. She looked over at Callum just as he was pulling his tongue back into his month. She couldn’t help but laugh at his childish antics. “Oh, yeah. I brought something from home,” she said, pulling out a cable of some type. “It’s a headphone cable for two sets of headphones. I thought maybe I could listen to your music with you.”

“That’s fine,” Callum said, unplugging his headphone, so he could plug the adapter in. He plugged his headphones back in before offering Rayla the other side. She moved her seat a little closer to him before plugging her own headphones in. Callum flushed when he realized what song he had been listening to, Aerosmith “Love In An Elevator”. Fortunately it was just the last few lines before the next song started. And, that one was no better. It was Dead Prez, “Mind Sex.”

“It’s time for some mind sex,”

Callum flushed deeper.

“We ain’t got to take our clothes off yet.”

Callum reached up and skipped the song. Looking over at Rayla, she was looking at him with a small smile. She gave him a quick wink.

“Close your eyes, make a wish

And blow out the candlelight

For tonight is just your night

We're gonna celebrate,

All through the night.”

Callum swallowed heard.

“Pour the wine, light the fire

Girl your wish is my command

I submit to your demands

I will do anything,

Girl you need only ask.”

Callum couldn’t believe his luck. Two in a row?

“I'll make love to you

Like you want me to”

Callum reached up to skip the song again only to have a thin, delicate hand gently grab his wrist. He looked over at Rayla, still feeling embarrassed. She reached up on pulled one of her earbuds out which caused him to pull one of side of headphones back.

“I like this song,” Rayla said with a smile.

Callum allowed it to play, hoping the next song would be less suggestive. Of course, it’s not like he knew she would be listening to music with him today, she had just sprung it on him when she started her day. But, then, maybe he could have manipulated the playlist after she had asked to participate. Goodness, she probably thought he was a creep. Callum dropped his head to the desk. Someone tapped him on shoulder. He looked over to Rayla who mouthed, “You okay?” and gave him a thumbs up. Callum smiled and nodded as he went back to work.

* * *

Rayla walked through the hallway, off to get her some lunch. She had been taking lunch with Callum for the past week, but he was indisposed today, so she would be eating alone. She had taking a liking to the well stocked salad bar and picked her way down the line filling her bowl with all her favorite things. As the bowl got heavier, she could only think about how much this was going to cost her. It was also the first time she would be paying for her own lunch, with either Callum or Soren paying for it for the first week even though she had insisted that they let her pay each time.

The cafeteria was crowded and finding a seat had been difficult, but she did finally find a table with no one at it. Shortly after she sat down someone came to stand next to her. It was a woman, about her age, with green eyes, but not the same dreamy green as Callum’s, and long blank hair with bright purple tips. Rayla gave her a quizzical look.

“Mind if I sit with you?” the woman asked.

“Be my guest,” Rayla said, nodding to the seat across from her.

“Thanks,” the woman said as she sat down. “My name’s Claudia.”

“Hello, Claudia, my name is Rayla,” Rayla said with a smile.

“Can’t say that I’ve ever seen you around here,” Claudia said, taking a bit of her salad. “And, I thought I know everyone in this building.”

“I’ve only worked here for a week now. Software Engineering,” Rayla said, taking her own bite.

“Which team?” Claudia asked with a sip of water.

“Lancelot,” Rayla answered, trying to suppress a snicker, still unfamiliar with the silly team names.

“Lancelot? Really?” Claudia said with a wide grin. “That’s my brother’s team.”

“Your brother?” Rayla asked, looking intrigued.

“Soren,” Claudia said. “Big blonde guy. Dumb as a box of rocks.”

“I don’t think I’d call my manager dumb as a box of rocks,” Rayla chuckled. “So you’re Soren’s sister?”

“I am,” Claudia said. “How are you enjoying your position so far?”

“It’s amazing, I really like the guy I work with,” Rayla said. Did she just say that? Surely Claudia would know she meant the whole team.

“I see,” Claudia smiled. “A lot of great people that work here.”

“What do you do?” Rayla asked.

“HR,” Claudia said. “So, if you really like the guy you work with,”— Claudia finished up her salad— “I get to be the first to know.” Claudia gave her a wink before cleaning up her dishes.

"I didn't mean," Rayla stammered.

"It's okay," Claudia chuckled. "It's good you're on Soren's team. Need some diversity there."


	5. Dog Days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rayla and Callum meet up at the vet office of all places and get to meet each other animals. Then lunch in the city with Rayla, Callum, and his dog.

Rayla couldn’t believe how long it had taken her to find a vet. After two weeks of reading Yelp! reviews and making phone calls, she finally found a vet that had good reviews and had an open spot for her to bring Neko over the weekend. The fun part of any vet trip was getting Neko into the carrier. Rayla circled the couch with the open crate in one hand and a handful of treats in the other. Neko watched her closely, ready to bolt if the crate got any closer. Rayla made a move to one side, Neko jumped to the other, just like she had planned. What she hadn’t planned was Neko darting between her legs and running into the bedroom. Rayla cursed herself for not having closed the door. A survey of the bedroom didn’t turn up anything, and that could mean only one thing.

Rayla dropped to her knees and looked under the bed. Two yellow-green eyes glowed back at her from the darkness. Rayla made a grab and secured the cat round the mid-section and begin to pull. She almost immediately regretted it. Neko twisted his body and sank all four sets of his claws into her forearm. Rayla let out a scream, “You damn cat! I’m going to sell you to the gypsies!” she cussed as she put the cat into the crate far more gently then she felt he deserved. Now she had to bandage her arm before she left for the vet. With her arm wrapped up and Neko secured, Rayla made her way out the door.

The vet office was small with a U-shaped reception desk with two young girls seated behind it, both working away at a computer. The only other person in the room was a man reading a newspaper with a rottweiler laying at his feet, the dog's leash loosely held in the man's right hand. Rayla’s first thought was the guy should have a better grip on such a dog, the second thing was that even for a rottweiler, it was a beautiful dog. She took a seat as far away from the man as she could, with only one row of seats, that wasn’t very easy, but the four seats between them would have to do.

Placing Neko on the seat next to her she pulled out her phone and began scrolling through her music. She wanted to make a playlist for her and Callum to listen to Monday, and she didn’t want anything to come up that might embarrass him. He seemed to embarrass easily. She smiled at the thought of his fully flushed face. He could be so cute. ‘Nope,’ Rayla thought, ‘don’t go there. He’s a co-worker.’ She didn’t bother to look up from her phone when she heard the newspaper crumple. ‘Who reads a newspaper now? Is he 80?’ she wondered to herself.

“Rayla?” the voice came from her left. She looked over to see Callum folding up his paper and smiling at her.

“Callum!” Rayla perked up. She couldn’t believe she was just thinking about him and now here he was. ‘Not that I was thinking about him like that,’ she silently reminded herself.

Callum stood up and moved over to her, taking the seat next to Neko. “How is it going?”

“Shouldn’t you keep a hand on your dog?” Rayla asked. She could have sworn she heard the two girls behind the counter snicker.

“Mogui?” Callum asked. “Nah, she’s fine. She won’t move unless I tell her to.”

“What? Really?” Rayla asked.

“Yeah. You could even go pet her, and she wouldn’t even pick her head up.”

“No way,” Rayla said, her disbelief obvious.

“Give it a try,” Callum offered.

“I don’t know,” Rayla said. “Aren’t those kind of dogs dangerous?”

Rayla watched as a look of sadness washed over Callum’s face. “Breeds don’t make dogs dangerous, people do. But, it was nice seeing you Rayla, I’ll leave you to what you were doing.” Rayla picked up on the complete loss of joy in his voice he had when he first called her name. It was the ‘momma’s boy’ comment all over again. He had just shut the conversation down.

“Callum wait,” Rayla said, reaching out to him. He looked down at her. “I’m sorry. I would love to meet your dog. What’s her name again?”

“Mogui,” Callum said.

“Like the little creature from Gremlins?” Rayla asked as she stood up next to him.

“Gremlins?” Callum asked.

“Movie, from the 80s?” Rayla asked.

Callum shook his head, and said, “Never heard of it.”

“Really? Wow, you’re missing out,” Rayla said, almost giggling. When they had reached the dog, Rayla carefully reached out. Only the dog’s eye tracked her movement. Before she knew it, she was petting the dog and just as Callum had said, Mogui didn’t even move her head.

“Want to meet her?” Callum asked. Rayla nodded. “Moguile.” The dog got up into a seated position. “Emo dazhaohu.” Mogui held out her paw for Rayla to take. Rayla was absolutely amazed as she shook the dogs paw.

“Did you train you dog in Chinese?”

“I did,” Callum admitted. “It’s like police dogs being trained in German. It’s easier for me and if I want anyone else to handle her I can teach them a few Chinese words faster than I can teach Mogui two languages.”

“Will she listen to me?” Rayla asked.

“If you know the command, sure,” Callum confirmed. “What do you want her to do?”

“How about lay back down?” Rayla asked.

“I have to get close and whisper in your ear, is that okay?” Callum asked.

“All, um, yes, that’s fine,” Rayla agreed.

Callum leaned close to her. He smelled like mint and clean linen today. “Mogui xialai,” Callum whispered in her ear. His breath was warm and tickled her ear and smelled fruity. Rayla lamented how brief the closeness was. Wait, no she didn’t. This was her co-worker. “Go ahead, give it a try. Pronunciation doesn’t have to be perfect, just close enough. It’s not like she actually speaks Mandarin.”

“Do I point or anything?” Rayla asked.

“If it makes you feel better,” Callum said with a grin.

Rayla pointed at the dog, “Mogwhy zowlie.” She could tell Callum could still hear her Scottish accent even though she thought she had said exactly what he did, but Mogui listened nonetheless and laid down with her head between her paws. “And she’ll stay like that until you tell her otherwise?”

“Well,” Callum said. “For the most part. Rotties are really protective so if she thinks someone is in danger she’ll react. Part of their dangerous reputation. People get aggressive so they switch into defense mode.”

“So if you’re in danger?”

“If anyone is in danger. If she thought I was threatening you, she’d probably attack me defending you. They go after the aggressive one. The threat.”

“Meanwhile,” Rayla looked down at her arm. “My cat claws me because I want to take him to the vet for a check up.”

“Is that what happened there?” Callum asked.

“Yep,” Rayla confirmed.

“I thought maybe I was going to have to get the guys from work together and find the guy roughed you up,” Callum said, smiling

“He’s right there,” Rayla said pointing to the crate she had with her. “And I think you will have to get at least Soren to help you out. Neko is a tough kitty.”

“Ne-ko,” Callum corrected.

“Huh? I think I know how to pronounce my cat’s name,” Rayla said.

“You are saying Nek-o, the Japanese pronunciation is Ne-ko,” Callum said, still giving her a good-natured smile. Rayla responded by sticking tongue out at him. It earned her a laugh before he was called back to see the vet. “Hey,” Callum said, “want to get lunch after we’re done here?”

“Sure,” Rayla said. “On one condition. I get to pay this time.”

“Sure,” Callum agreed before heading to the back.

* * *

Callum couldn’t believe he had actually done it, he asked a girl to lunch when it wasn’t work related at all. And, Rayla nonetheless. But, it’s not like it was anything to call Ezran over, it was just a weekend lunch with a work friend. Callum made sure to tell himself time and time again it wasn’t a date as they walked to her apartment to drop her cat off. She only lived about three blocks from the vet's office. Callum had explained to her that he only lived about six blocks in the other direction and him and Mogui had walked as well.

“Do you want to take Mogui home?” Rayla asked, joining him after getting her cat home.

“It’s a nice day, let’s fine a sidewalk place,” Callum said. “The city is pretty dog friendly.”

“Have you lived her long?” Rayla asked. Callum couldn’t help but notice how unnecessarily close she walked to him. Well, the street was crowded and it was a bit noisy, so she certainly wanted to hear him, maybe he was just fooling for himself. It certainly wouldn’t be the first. He had a tendency to mistake kindness for affection. Look at Claudia for example. That was an embarrassing situation, especially when she introduced him to her boyfriend. “Callum? You okay?”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Callum said. “Kind of spaced out.” He made a conscious effort to increase the space between them by changing what hand Mogui’s leash was in, putting his dog between them. “What was the question?”

“Have you lived here long?” Rayla repeated.

“Most my life,” Callum said. “Except the time I lived in Beijing for a year, and then we lived in California for a year. What about you?”

“I just moved here for this job,” Rayla said. “I’ve been here for a month now.”

“Can I ask you a personal question?” Callum asked, feeling he was being overly bold. Before Rayla could answer, Callum motioned to a table on the sidewalk. “Let’s eat hear,” Callum said. “They do good Indian food, most of its vegan.”

“You know me too well,” Rayla smiled as she waited for Callum to situate his dog and then took the seat next to him. Was she aware that she was driving him crazy? “So, what do you want to ask me?”

“Oh, yeah,” Callum stumbled a bit. “Is — is there a Mr. Rayla?”

“No, not even a prospective Mr. Rayla,” Rayla said, picking up the menu and flipping through it.

“Hello, Callum. Mogui,” a young, diminutive, blonde haired waitress greeted him.

“Hey Aanya,” Callum returned the greeting without opening the menu. “I’ll have a beer and the chana masala.”

“Not the chicken?” Aanya asked picking up Callum’s menu.

“Rayla’s a vegan, so I try to respect her dietary choice when I eat with her,” Callum said motioning to his companion.

“Oh my god!” Aanya almost squealed as her face lit up. “You are the famous Rayla!”

“The famous Rayla?” Rayla asked the waitress looking at Callum.

“This is Aanya, one of my brother’s female friends,” Callum said, introducing Aanya.

“You bet you’re famous. What until Ezran finds out I got to meet you first.”

“It’s not that big of a deal, Aanya,” Callum said, wishing he still had a menu to hide behind.

“What makes me famous, Aanya?” Rayla asked, a slight smile on her face.

“Ask Callum, he’s he one that doesn’t stop talking about you,” Aanya grinned.

“Can you just take her order?” Callum asked.

“I’ll have the dal chaawal, no ghee or butter please. And, I’ll also have a beer,” Rayla said, motioning to Callum. “Whatever he’s having. Sounds like I need one, or twelve.”

Aanya gave Callum a sly wink as she took up Rayla’s menu. The table was quiet until the beers arrived. Callum took a big sip of his. He waited until Rayla had a drink as well before he spoke. “I just tell them how great it is to be teamed up with a competent programmer for a change. I was going absolutely crazy doing my work and Tim’s work as well.”

“Sure there is nothing else you’ve been telling them?” Rayla asked with another sip.

“Nothing,” Callum lied. He made a note to tell his brother what they talk about should stay between them and no telling Aanya and Ellis. He didn’t want to lie to her, but he also didn’t want to look like a complete creep. Any more than he felt he already did.

“So, you,” Rayla said. “Can I ask you personal questions?”

“Sure,” Callum agreed.

“Why no girlfriend?” Rayla asked.

“I don’t know,” Callum shrugged. He jumped as Aanya put his plate in front of him and Rayla’s in front of her.

“Enjoy,” she said. “Let me know if you need anything.”

“You got to know why you don’t have a girlfriend.?” Rayla pressed.

“Just never had,” Callum confirmed. “I guess I just read women all wrong and mistake kindness for affection.” Why was he admitting this to her?

“Ahh,” Rayla said, trying her food. “I think that sounds kind of cute. You were right, this is good.”

“Sounds cute until you’re on the receiving end of it,” Callum said, pushing is food around the plate. “Then it gets kind of creepy.”

“What do you do now when you find a woman you’re interested in?” she asked.

“I assume that she’s not interested in me and I go on about my life,” Callum answered.

“That sounds like a lonely way to live,” Rayla said after another bite.

“Keeps me out of trouble,” Callum said taking a bite. “It’s almost impossible to date these days. I’m so worried about offending everyone that I don’t feel I can be myself.”

“Like ordering the chickpea dish just because you’re with me,” Rayla said, motioning her fork toward at his plate. She placed a hand on his arm, causing his pulse to spike. “Callum, it’s a choice I made for me. You don’t have to choose to eat that way just because you’re with me. Have a whole side of beef smeared in gelatin. Then it’s up to me to decide if I want to eat next to you or not.”

“Would you?” Callum asked. “If I ate like that?”

“I would for you, Callum,” Rayla smiled. “You’re the only friend I have in this city.”

There it was, friend. That’s good though. He knew where he stood. That’s what was important.


	6. Happy Hour (Callum's POV)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The events of Friday Happy Hour from Callum's point of view.

Callum had spent another morning listening to one of Rayla’s playlist. He liked to indulge her in this new-found joy. This one was a playlist she called “Friday Morning Celebration.” Once it was over, Callum knew it was about lunchtime. It saddened him that he wouldn’t be having lunch with Rayla today, and he knew why. Ever since their Saturday lunch Callum had decided it was time to stop pretending, and he wouldn’t mistake affection for kindness. He had planned to tell her at lunch today, but once Rayla had told him that she was having lunch with Claudia, it brought into stark relief that he couldn’t just ask her out, he had to talk to HR first.

“Do I get a hug before I go?” Rayla had asked him.

She had never said anything like that before. Sure, co-workers could hug. There was nothing against that in the Associate Relations CBT. Callum quickly hugged her. He half expected the “friend zone” pat one the back, but Rayla held him tight. No pat.

“Are you going to happy hour tonight?” Rayla asked as she stepped away.

“Eye,” Callum tried his best Scottish accent.

“That’s great! But please don’t say that again,” Rayla said, smiling broadly.

After she walked off, Callum moved over to Soren’s desk. He leaned his backside against Soren’s desk. Callum gave a great sigh causing Soren to look up.

“What’s up bud?” Soren asked.

“Can we go to lunch?” Callum asked.

“Sure,” Soren said.

The two men made their way to the cafeteria and Callum stood in line for the grill, knowing Soren wouldn’t argue. The two men ordered fries and burgers before heading off to find a place to sit. Soren perked up, raising a hand to point to two familiar people.

“Look Callum! It’s Clauds and Rayla. They have seats,” Soren said.

“Can we find somewhere else to sit?” Callum asked. “Please.”

“Something wrong?” Soren asked. “I thought they were your buddies.”

“They are, but I kind of need to talk to you in private,” Callum said, walking off to find a more secluded seat. Finding a seat, Callum sat down and gave Soren an expectant look.

Soren sat down across from him and gave Callum an appraising look. “What’s up buddy,” Soren asked. “What’s bothering you? You look… odd.”

Callum let out a sigh, suddenly unsure if he wasn’t putting himself in the same position he had with women in the past. “It’s about, Rayla,” Callum said.

“What about her?” Soren asked.

“Do you think, that maybe, she likes me?” Callum questioned.

“What do you mean?” Soren countered.

“Nothing. Never mind,” Callum said. “It’s stupid.” Callum looked down at the table. “I think I’m going to head back to my desk.”

“Callum, wait buddy,” Soren said. “We can talk. Are you asking me if I think Rayla is into you, dude?”

Callum only nodded.

“If she’s into anyone here it’s you,” Soren said. “You are pretty much the only one on the team she talks to, and she’s been here for almost a month now. But, if it’s about that hug before you came over to get me, remember what you always say.”

“Yeah,” Callum sighed, “mistake kindness for affection. So, you think that’s what I’m doing?”

“Not at all,” Soren said, shaking his head. “She’s going to happy hour tonight. Why don’t you come and get her a lone and ask her. Maybe get a little Dutch courage first.”

Callum spent the rest of his day thinking about what Soren had said. If Rayla noticed he was preoccupied, she didn’t say anything to him. He did his best not to give her any undue attention as not to lose his nerve and skip out on the night. After the day came to a close, Callum said his goodbye to Rayla after walking her to her car. His trip home was even more nerve racking. He kept telling himself that Soren wouldn’t want him to fail, would he? Well, there was only one way to find out.

The bar was the same one Callum had gone to the last time he had gone out with his work mates. It was done up to look like a small town Scottish pub. It made Callum wonder what Rayla would think of the place. He wouldn’t have to wait to find out, she was already their seated at the table between Soren and, Callum’s eyes narrowed, Kasef. As he approached Rayla looked back and smiled broadly. She waved him over as she stood up and nudged Soren to slide down as she took his seat and gave Callum hers. Callum could tell that Kasef was a bit miffed by the new seating arrangement. Rayla gave him a hug before she sat down with him.

Callum ordered a bourbon and ginger ale before he turned his attention back to Rayla. “So, what do you think of the décor?”

“Reminds of home,” Rayla said taking a sip of her drink.

“Does it really?” Callum said, surprised.

“No, it’s shite,” Rayla said with a giggle.

Callum laughed along with her. And, that’s how the night progressed. Callum hadn’t thought he could enjoy himself at one of these things, but having Rayla to focus on made it so much better. It was about three hours in when Callum mentioned he was going to go out back and get some air. He was relieved that Rayla had volunteered to accompany him because he wasn’t sure if he had had the courage to ask. Callum found himself picking at the label of a beer bottle, leaned against the banister, trying to figure out how to talk to Rayla. She leaned on the same banister with another scotch and water.

“It’s a nice night,” Callum finally said.

“Sure is, very lovely,” Rayla agreed.

“I’m glad I came tonight,” Callum admitted.

“Me too, Callum,” Rayla said. “I don’t think I could have hung around this long if it wasn’t for you.”

Callum smiled at her. “Can I be candid with you, Rayla?”

“Sure,” she said.

“Rayla, I think you’re really great, and I’d like to take you out. On like a date.” Callum refused to look up from his half drank beer.

“Oh, Callum. That’s so lovely, but,” Rayla started.

Callum closed his eyes. ‘Here it comes,’ he thought. But Rayla didn’t get a chance to finish.

“There you are!” Kasef exclaimed. Callum looked up in time to see Kasef approach Rayla. “How about you and I grab one last drink and then get out of here.”

“I was talking to Callum,” Rayla said, moving closer to Callum.

Kasef grabbed her by the wrist, “Come on, it’ll be worth it.”

Callum smacked Kasef’s hand away. “Don’t touch Rayla like that!”

Callum was only vaguely aware of what happened next. Something hit him on the right side of his head, just in front of the temple. Someone called his name but it sounded like they were all the way across an empty warehouse. There were other forms, some kind of struggle. Callum couldn’t make anything out. The next thing he was fully aware of was a cute girl in an EMT uniform asking him questions which he struggled to answer. Who was he, where was he, what happened. It was when he was being rolled into the ER that it all came back to him. Kasef had hit him with a beer bottle. It had shattered and now the doctor would be pulling glass out of his head while he talked to the police. Did he want to press charges. Damn right he did. Callum spent the next few hours getting stitches and having test done. When he finally left the ER he found Rayla in the waiting room. She look tired and like she had been crying with what had to be his blood on her shirt. She jumped up to moment she saw him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll try not to make you wait long for Rayla's POV


	7. Happy Hour (Rayla's POV)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The events of Friday Happy Hour from Rayla's point of view.

“Do I get a hug before I go?” Rayla had asked as he was getting ready to go have lunch with Claudia. She knew Callum was disappointed she wasn’t going to lunch with him, and she wanted to give him a little comfort. She had stopped fooling herself after lunch Saturday, and she had realized she was trying to be close to him whenever she could. And, maybe after her chat with Claudia today.

Callum seemed to hesitate as he looked Rayla over as she stood with her arms stretched out. Callum finally stepped into the embrace. Rayla thought he seemed pretty enthusiastic about receiving the hug. Rayla wrapped her arms around him and held him tight. She took in a deep breath, savoring his scent.

“Are you going to happy hour tonight?” Rayla asked as she stepped away.

“Eye,” Callum said, trying a Scottish accent.

“That’s great! But please don’t say that again,” Rayla said, cringing internally but smiling broadly. She wondered, as she walked away, if he knew how adorable he was.

“So,” Claudia said, starting her conversation with Rayla as she stepped up to the salad bar line with her. “What is so important that you had to meet with me today?”

“What if I just wanted to have lunch with my buddy,” Rayla said.

“Please, Rayla,” Claudia said. “I haven’t been doing this all my life and don’t know when a lunch invite is really a meeting.”

“Fine,” said Rayla. “But, let’s get our food and find a set.”

The two women found a seat after paying for their salads. While Claudia started to eat, Rayla just picked at her food, only taking small bites. Rayla gave a great sigh. “So, it’s about one of my co-workers.”

“Someone giving you trouble?” Claudia asked, taking another bite.

“No, not like that,” Rayla said. “I kinda have a thing for someone. And, you said you get to find out first.”

“I was teasing, but thanks for coming to me,” Claudia said. “Is it someone on your team?”

Rayla nodded.

“It’s not Soren is it?” Claudia asked.

“No,” Rayla said, sounding more horrified than she meant to. “I mean, um, Soren’s great and all, but this guy is just so handsome, passionate, talented, articulate, and handsome.”

“You said handsome twice,” Claudia smiled, knowing Rayla wanted her to point it out.

“Claudia he’s just gorgeous,” Rayla said.

“So,” Claudia starting taking another bite, “does Callum know.”

“Who said anything about Callum?” Rayla asked.

“You described him to a tee, except maybe the double handsome part.” Claudia said.

“I plan to talk to him tonight at my teams happy hour,” Rayla confirmed.

“Well, good luck. If anything comes of it, shot me an email Monday,” Claudia said as the two woman finished eating. Rayla found it much easier to eat after tell Claudia about her intentions.

For the last couple of hours of work, Callum seemed rather distracted and didn’t offer her much conversation, if any at all. She didn’t bother him figuring if he needed some space then how who was she to take that from him. But, she kept a concerned eye on him nonetheless.

“Walk me to my car?” Rayla asked.

“Uh, sure,” Callum said.

Once at her car Rayla wanted to ask for another hug, but Callum made a quick exit. Rayla just sighed and headed home, determined to be dressed just a little more sexy than work would allow. She hoped Callum would like the low cut top and shorter skirt.

The bar itself was a joke. The place was decorated to look like a small town Scottish pub, or at least what an American thought a small town Scottish pub looked like. Rayla was pleased to see that Soren was already present, and she went to sit with him. That was when she saw Kasef moving over from the bar to take a seat next to her. His presence caused her to roll her eyes in disgust. It took an hour of ignoring Kasef before Callum finally showed up. As he approached Rayla looked back and smiled broadly. She waved him over as she stood up and nudged Soren to slide down as she took his seat and gave Callum hers. Rayla was pleased to see that Kasef was a bit miffed by the new seating arrangement. Just to add insult to injury she gave Callum a hug before she sat down with him.

Callum ordered a bourbon and ginger ale before he turned his attention back to Rayla. “So, what do you think of the décor?”

“Reminds of home,” Rayla said taking a sip of her drink.

“Does it really?” Callum said, surprised.

“No, it’s shite,” Rayla said with a giggle.

Throughout the night Rayla found herself touching Callum’s arm and bumping shoulders with him as they laughed and joked together. Him being there certainly made even Kasef’s presence bearable. Finally, Callum mentioned something about going out to get some air. Rayla took the opportunity to accompany him. Outside, Callum was already leaned himself against a banister and was picking at his beer bottle. Rayla leaned on the same banister with another scotch and water. Ready to talk to Callum, but he spoke first.

“It’s a nice night,” Callum finally said.

“Sure is, very lovely,” Rayla agreed.

“I’m glad I came tonight,” Callum admitted.

“Me too, Callum,” Rayla said. “I don’t think I could have hung around this long if it wasn’t for you.”

Callum smiled at her. “Can I be candid with you, Rayla?”

“Sure,” she said.

“Rayla, I think you’re really great, and I’d like to take you out. On like a date.” Callum said, sounding so unsure of himself.

Rayla knew that if she was going to do this, Callum had to know about her last relationship. He deserved to know. “Oh, Callum. That’s so lovely, but,” Rayla started.

“There you are!” Kasef exclaimed. Rayla looked over to see Kasef approach. “How about you and I grab one last drink and then get out of here.”

“I was talking to Callum,” Rayla said, moving closer to Callum. She couldn’t believe this guy. If he had waited two minutes he probably would have been talking to someone’s girlfriend.

Kasef grabbed her by the wrist, “Come on, it’ll be worth it.”

Callum smacked Kasef’s hand away. “Don’t touch Rayla like that!”

Rayla watched as Kasef’s arm swung wide. A stiff thud was followed by the sound of breaking glass. She looked over to Callum, Kasef’s target. He was slumped against the banister, his right temple was bleeding, glass visible in the wound. “Callum!” Rayla called out. “Callum!” she tried again. “Soren!”

Her last call had been unnecessary, Soren was already on his way out of the bar. When he got there Rayla was bent next to Callum, panicking. Soren looked over at Kasef. Kasef’s hand was bleeding from the broken bottle.

“What happened,” Soren asked.

“He hit Callum with a beer bottle,” Rayla said. Now cradling Callum’s bloody head. Rayla paid no mind to Callum’s blood soaking through her shirt and covering her chest. “That’s jerk hit Callum for no reason!” Rayla laid her friend down gently. She jumped up from her position and attacked Kasef. The man didn’t know how to handle her sudden outbreak of violence. Soren jumped to pull Rayla off of Kasef.

“Rayla,” Soren said. “Watch after Callum. I’ll call an ambulance. And don’t you go anywhere,” Soren said to Kasef.

Rayla moved back over to where Callum was.

“What happened,” Callum asked.

“You’re going to be okay, Callum,” Rayla said.

“You’re so pretty,” Callum said, his voice slurred.

“Shh,” Rayla said, stroking his bloodied hair. “It’ll be okay Callum.” She could tell he was completely out of it and possibly delirious.

It didn’t take long for the police to show up. After talking to everyone involved, that could talk as Callum was still out of it and rambling about how much he liked Rayla’s hair. The police interview ended with Callum being loaded into an ambulance and Kasef being loaded into a police car after the cuts on his hand bandaged up. In the end he had been charged with aggravated assault.

Rayla’s night ended with giving a statement at the local police station before going to the hospital they had taken Callum to. She had argued with the nurse trying to get back to see Callum. She was just told that since she wasn’t family she would have to wait until he was released. Rayla took the time to allow the night to overwhelm her. She found herself crying, trying to get the dried blood off of her hands by rubbing them on her shirt and skirt. A movement caught her attention. It was Callum coming from the back. His head bandaged, his hair and shirt covered in blood. Rayla jumped up and ran over to him. She threw her arm around his neck.

“So, you’ve never really kissed a girl before?” Rayla asked.

Callum shook his head, his arms naturally finding her waist.

“Do you want to?” Rayla asked.

“If it’s you,” Callum replied.

Rayla pressed her lips against his. She lost herself in the kiss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A note on another story. I'm thinking of another story with the Teen Mom/Juno angle. Rayla is a high school student that is pregnant with Callum being a new found buddy that helps her through it. It would be a very adult story though. Also, could I get away with Soren being the dead beat dad or do I have to shit on Kasef again?
> 
> I'm asking here because I really don't have another forum for discussion.


	8. Sleepover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rayla takes Callum to her place after leaving the hospital. They have a talk about their relationship and get cleaned up.

Callum and Rayla had talked about it as they drove away from the hospital. She had offered to take Callum to get his car, but he had insisted that, at an hour round trip, it was too far for Rayla to drive that night. He had offered to ride with her to her place and walk home from there, and his little brother could give him a ride the next morning to get his car. Rayla had insisted that it was far to late and Callum was in no condition to walk all the way to his apartment. The compromise would finally be that Callum would stay the night at Rayla’s apartment and just spend the night on the couch. For Rayla’s part, she already wanted Callum in her bed, but when he suggested the couch, she didn’t bring up an alternative.

The front door of the apartment had barely closed before Rayla kicked her shoes of and pulled the shirt over her head. Callum could see where his blood had soaked through and covered her bra. The sight caused him to swallow, he had never seen a real woman in just her bra before, and Rayla was a very fine example of one.

“I’m going to take a shower,” Rayla said.

Callum snapped his eyes up to Rayla’s, relieved to find that she, in fact, wasn’t looking at him. “Um, okay.”

“I have a few large t-shirts that you might be able to wear so you can get a shower too,” Rayla said.

“That’s good,” Callum said, trying not to look below her neck again.

“I know how stitches work, would you like me to wash you hair?” Rayla asked.

“Uh, why’s that?” Callum asked back.

“Well, you got blood in it and you can’t get your stitches wet,” she explained.

“I think I can, uh, manage,” Callum said. Just the thought of her seeing him in the shower made his face flush a deep red.

“Okay,” Rayla said, walking to the bathroom. “If you’d like a drink, there is beer, scotch and bourbon in the kitchen. Also, water and juice.”

Callum watched her walk away as she shed her skirt. Even her backside was perfectly shaped under her panties. Something else he had never seen before in real life. It required Rayla to disappear into the bathroom before Callum could stop staring. He felt like a real creep, staring at her like that. He shook his head at himself before moving into the kitchen and searching through the cabinets where he found a bottle of Johnnie Walker Black Label. He searched again for a glass and pulled it down and poured himself a double with just a splash of water before he returned to the couch in the living room. It was a large, plush thing with plenty of room for at least four or five people. Callum took a seat before taking a big sip of his drink. He still felt like a tool having ogled Rayla when she had gone out of her way to ensure that he was okay. He took another big sip as he watched Rayla’s cat move across the living room. Callum could swear the cat was judging him. Probably because of the way he was leering at his mistress. Callum finished the drink and made a decision. If he could get out now, maybe she would understand in the morning.

Meanwhile, Rayla had finished her shower and was leaned over her sink, staring at herself in the mirror. It was an awful night but hopefully spending some time with Callum would make it better. She debated how she should dress to sit with him. She normally just wore panties and a t-shirt to bed, but maybe she should put some shorts on when he was a round for right now, but if the way he had looked at her when she had taken her skirt off was any indication, he wouldn’t mind her just in her normal sleep wear. That determination made, Rayla wrapped the towel around herself and exited the bathroom. There was Callum, almost out of the door.

“Callum?” Rayla asked, her voice soft and a little hurt.

“Uh, Rayla,” Callum turned, then quickly looked away.

“Where are you going?” Rayla asked.

“I should, uh, go home,” Callum said.

“Why don’t you give me a chance to get dressed, and we’ll sit down and talk?” Rayla asked.

“Um, okay,” Callum said.

“Come one over and sit down. I’ll be back out in a moment. Have another drink.”

Callum thought another drink sounded good. He made another one then sat down on the couch. He was struck dumb when Rayla emerged a few moments later were just a pair of pink and white panties and a white t-shirt. Rayla sat down next Callum. She picked his arm up and rested her back against him before placing his arm back down so it was wrapped around her stomach. She laced her fingers into his and let out a little sigh. Callum was stiff, she could feel it in his arms, his chest, and his leg. Rayla took a moment, hoping he would relax before she began to speak. When he didn’t, she decided it was now or never.

“How’s it feel to be snuggled up to your girlfriend?” Rayla asked.

“My girlfriend?” Callum asked, looking down to her. Rayla’s vibrant purple eyes shined up at him.

“Well, yeah,” Rayla smiled. “Didn’t I say it would be lovely to go out with you?” She started to play with Callum’s fingers.

“That was followed by a but,” Callum pointed up.

“I know, that but was because I felt I had to tell you about my last relationship,” Rayla said.

“What about it?” Callum asked. He took a sip of his drink before he started to play his finger tips across her open palm.

“It was a guy I worked with, not as closely as we work together, but he was on the Database team,” Rayla explained, enjoying the feeling of Callum’s fingers on her palm. “It’s why I had to change jobs, he pretty much made me out to be the bad guy. I cheated on him. I am threatening. I was just generally a psycho bitch.”

“Was any of that true,” Callum asked, taking another sip.

Rayla looked over her shoulder, back at Callum. His green eyes bore no malice. “If I for one moment thought you were serious, this would be over before it even had a chance to get started. Now, keep doing that with you fingers.” Rayla gave a contented sigh as she pushed herself deeper into him. “I wanted you to know about it because part of me is afraid that’s how this is going to end.”

“Rayla,” Callum said. “I could never do something like that to you.”

Rayla nodded. “I don’t get that vibe from you, but it really scares the heck out of me. Callum, I thought he was the one. It still gets to me. I’m going to try to keep that separate from this, but, Callum, I’m going to need you to help me from time to time.”

“I’ll do my best,” Callum said. “This is all new to me.”

“You just keep being you and don’t be afraid to call me out on my bullshit and you’ll do just fine,” Rayla said, still enjoying Callum’s fingers on her palm. “Mm, and keep doing that.”

“Is there still an offer for a shower?” Callum asked.

“Oh, yeah,” Rayla sat up, finally. “No trying to sneaking out afterwards, okay?”

“Okay,” Callum confirmed.

Rayla retrieved one of her over sized t-shirts and handed it to Callum as he moved into the bathroom. Callum stripped out of his clothing and looked at the dried blood that covered him. Maybe he should take Rayla up on her offer to wash his hear. That would mean her seeing him naked, and he wasn’t sure if he was ready for that. Surely a little water wouldn’t hurt his stitches. He started the shower and stepped in. It was after he washed the blood off his body he swallowed and made a decision that was probably fueled by the liquor he had been drinking.

“Rayla,” he called out.

It was as if she was waiting by the door. “Yes,” she called back as she cracked the door open.

“I’m going to need a towel and, um, can you wash my hair?” Callum asked. He looked out the shower to see Rayla standing there. She started to take her shirt off. “Wait, what are you doing?” Callum’s nerve was suddenly shot.

“Dummy,” Rayla said. “Can’t get my clothes wet.” She finished pulling her shirt off revealing she hadn’t been wearing a bra. Her breast enthralled him. Only when she dropped her panties to the ground could he take his eyes off of them. Callum swallowed hard as Rayla climbed in behind him. She carefully wet Callum’s hair, being sure to protect his bandages. Callum could feel her body pressed against his back as she gently washed his hair. Rayla couldn’t help but take Callum in. She was very pleased when she looked him over. He was deceptively muscular and probably within the top three endowments she had ever seen in her life.

“After we’re done here, I’ll help you get dried off, change your bandage and get you tucked in, okay?” Rayla questioned.

“Yeah,” Callum answered, his voice was shaky and breathy.

The drying off had been very flirtatious but Callum didn’t complain at all. Callum got more kisses and Rayla had even touched him intimately. She had allowed him to dry her off as well. His nerves made him hurry through the process. Once his bandage was changed, and he was dressed, Rayla helped him onto the couch. She tucked him in with blankets she had retrieved and a nice fluffy pillow. Callum got another kiss.

“Rayla,” Callum grabbed her parting wrist. “You are sexy.”

“So are you, and call me Ray,” Rayla said, winking at him. “Good night Callum.”

“Good night, Ray,” Callum smiled before closing his eyes to try to sleep.

Rayla spent the first part of the night laying awake in her bed thinking about things. Was she moving way to fast with Callum? She wasn’t sure, but what she was sure of was she didn’t care. At about two in the morning she got out of bed and went into the living room. Callum was sound asleep on the couch. Rayla smiled as she decided she wanted to be next to him. She climbed onto the couch and snuggled chest to chest with Callum, burying her head into his neck. In his sleep, he wrapped his arms around her.


End file.
